1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a patterning method, and in particular relates to a method for patterning a polymer surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Materials and substrates with engineered surface patterns are used extensively for applications in electronic, optical, magnetic, chemical, and biological devices. In particular, surfaces with patterned chemical functionalities can serve as templates for directed self-assembly of nanoparticles, biomolecules, and antibodies, and are employed in the development of micro-scale biochips and sensor devices.
A conventional method for patterning a polymer surface is described as follows. A silicon mold is fabricated by a photolithography process. The polymer solution is poured into the silicon mold. Then, a patterned polymer is obtained by baking the polymer solution at a high temperature. However, the photolithography process must be performed in a clean room environment with specialized photolithography equipment, which is costly.
Laser beam micro-matching technology is another method for patterning a polymer surface. However, laser equipment is expensive and production output is slow, thereby, decreasing fabrication efficiency.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,966 discloses a method for patterning a metal layer using a microcontact printing (MCP) process, wherein a patterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a specific compound is used as a stamp. The specific compound is then transferred to the surface of the metal layer to form a self-assembly monolayer on the metal layer.
Taiwan publication number 200633610 discloses a soft lithographic stamp and a method for the manufacturing thereof. The stamp is comprised of blocking regions and printing regions. Due to the specific properties of the blocking regions, a patterned substrate is obtained by transferring the printing regions to a substrate. While mass production is convenient and fast, patterned sizes are limited (larger than μm-scale).
Accordingly, there is a need to develop a method for patterning a polymer surface, which is not only simpler than the conventional methods, but also applicable to smaller sized patterns (smaller than μm-scale).